pharmacy tech

Accreditation

Recognition by an outside organization that an institution or program meets established criteria

Board of pharmacy

A panel of pharmacists and members of the public appointed by state’s legislature or governor. The duty of a board of pharmacy is to protect the citizens of its state by passing pharmacy rules and regulations. All states and the District of Columbia have a board of pharmacy.

Certification

A voluntary process where a non governmental agency or association recognizes an individual person who has met specific qualifications and has achieved a certain level of knowledge, skill, or experience

Health system

Two or more healthcare settings such as hospital, ambulatory clinic or home care, have a working relationship with each other and are managed or owned by the same business or corporation. Health systems provide complete healthcare services to their patients

Home healthcare

Healthcare service ls provided to a patient in the home or other setting in which the patient lives.

Licensure

The process where a governmental agency gives permission to an individual to work in a specific occupation. The individual must show that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to protect public health, safety, and welfare as they work in that occupation

Medication therapy management (MTM)

A service(s) performed by a pharmacist to maximize health results for a patient. Such services include assessing a patients health; designing a medication plan; selecting starting, changing or giving medication; looking for medication-related problems; documenting and communicating patient health information to other healthcare professionals; educating the patient about the use of the medications and making sure that he or she understands how to correctly use them; and coordinating medication therapy management services with the other healthcare services.

Pharmacist

A healthcare professional licensed by the state to practice pharmacy. Pharmacists have advanced training in pharmaceutical sciences such as pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmaceutics

Pharmacology

The study of drugs and medications, including origins, properties, actions, and effects on the body

Pharmacokinetics

The study of movement of a drug through the body by which drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized and eliminated in the body

Pharmaceutics

The design and preparation of drug dosage forms

Pharmacy technician

A healthcare professional who assists pharmacists by performing the routine, day-to-day functions of the practice of pharmacy that do not require the judgment of the pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians may also be called pharmacy support personnel or staff.

Registration

The process of making a list or being added to an existing list. A pharmacy technician may be required to be registered with the state board of pharmacy before legally carrying out some pharmacy functions.

Medication

A substance that is used to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease state in a human or animal

Homeostasis

State of equilibrium of the internal environment by the body that is maintained by dynamic processes of feedback and regulation

Drug

A substance that may be expected to change or influence processes occurring in a living organism

Pharmaceutical

Another term for medication

Toxicology

The study of the harmful effects of substances, including drugs, on the human body and the science of predicting, preventing, and treating these effects

Precipitate

Solid particles, usually insoluble that settle out of a solution

Therapeutics

The study of how medications are used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease, including the expected results, dosages, side effects and toxicities

Biennial inventory

DEA-registered pharmacies are required by law to take an initial inventory of all controlled substances on hand on commencing operations or on change in ownership, with the subsequent inventories conducted every 2 years thereafter

Child-resistant packaging

Special packaging with added caps that children will have difficulty opening. It is used for hazardous products such as prescription and over the counter drugs and household products to reduce the risk of children ingesting dangerous items. Child-resistant packaging must pass federal tests to ensure that it meets the federal requirements

Controlled substances

Drugs or chemical substances whose possession and use are regulated under the Federal Controlled Substances Act and by state controlled substance laws and regulations. Controlled substances are subject to stricter controls than other prescription and nonprescription drugs

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

The federal agency that administers and enforces federal laws for controlled substances such as narcotics and other dangerous drugs and illegal substances. The DEA is part of the U.S. Department of Justice

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The primary federal law establishing health information privacy. HIPAA protects patients individually identifiable health information but allows the use and disclosure of information for patient care, treatment, and healthcare operations

Initial inventory

The inventory a pharmacy takes of its stock of controlled substances on beginning the dispensing or distribution of controlled substances

Legend drug

A drug required by federal law to be dispensed by prescription only. It is the older term for drugs that now identified as “Rx Only”

Practice of pharmacy

The duties and responsibilities of pharmacists, including, but not limited to, interpretation, evaluation, dispensing, and/or implementation of prescription drug orders and the initiation and provision of pharmacist care services. The practice of pharmacy is regulated by each state through its pharmacy laws and regulations

Prescription drug monitoring programs

State prescription drug monitoring programs collect, review and analyze information received from pharmacies about controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in the state. State law enforcement and regulatory agencies may review the information to assist in identifying and investigating potential diversion and abuse of controlled substance prescriptions

Protected health information (PHI)

Any health information that identifies or could reasonably be used to identify a patient

Regulations (or rules)

An administrative or governmental agency issues regulations (or rules) that establish the requirements that the regulated persons or entities must follow. For example, a state board of pharmacy issues regulations for pharmacy technicians to establish the qualifications that pharmacy technicians must meet to work as a pharmacy technician in a state

1906- Food and Drugs Act

Outlaws states from buying and selling food, drinks, and drugs that have been mislabeled and tainted

1912- Sherley Amendment

Outlaws labeling drugs with fake medical claims meant to trick the buyer

1930- FDA

U.S. Food and Drug Administration is named

1938- Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

Requires new drugs to be proven safe prior to marketing, starts a new system of drug regulation, requires safe limits for unavoidable poisonous substances and allows for factory inspections

1951- Durham-Humphrey Amendment

Defines the type of drugs that cannot be used safely without medical supervision and limits the sale to prescription only by medical professionals

1962- Kefauver- Harris Drug Amendments

Requires manufactures to prove that their drugs are effective prior to marketing

1972- Over the Counter Drug Review

Nonprescription medications must be safe, effective and appropriately labeled

1982- Tamper-resistant Packaging Regulations

Makes it a crime to tamper with packaged products and requires tamper proof packaging

1984- Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act (Hatch-Waxman Act)

Allowed FDA to approve generic versions of brand name drugs without repeating research to prove safety and efficacy, allowed brand name drugs to apply for up to 5 years of additional patent protection for new drugs to make up for time lost while their products were going through the FDA approval process

1988- Prescription Drug Marketing Act

Designed to eliminate diversion of products from legitimate channels of distribution and requires wholesalers to be licensed

1997- U.S. Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act

Expands scope of agency activities and moves agency to the Department of Health and Human Services

2003- Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act

Includes Medicare Part D which increases access to medications through private insurers

2004- Project BioShield Act

Promotes timely distribution of medications in the event of a bioterrorist attack

2004- Anabolic Steroid Control Act

Prohibits over the counter sales of steroid precursors such as dehydroepiandrosterone

2005- Drug Safety Board

Formed to advise the FDA’s Center for Dryg Evaluation and Research on drug safety issues and communication of safety information to healthcare professionals and patients

2005- Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act

Limits retail sale over the counter products that contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine (PPA) which can be used to manufacture methamphetamine

2006- Requirements on Content and Format of Labeling for Human Prescription Drug and Biological Products

Approval of new labeling requirements designed to improve access, readability, and use of FDA approved prescription labels

Accrediting body

An organization or entity that establishes standards for accreditation and determines that a healthcare organization complies with the standards

Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ)

An accrediting organization for the operation of hospitals

Certification

Confirmation by an entity that an organization complies with the entity’s predetermined standards

Certifying body

An organization or entity that establishes standards for certification and determines that a healthcare organization complies with the standards

Compliance

Meeting or adhering to the requirements of a standard law, rule, or regulation

Deemed status

An accrediting organization approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that is in compliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation

Domain

The set on which a function is defined

Allele

A particular type of DNA sequence at a specific location in the genome. Such a sequence can be a wild type or variant sequence

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid

The double stranded molecule found in the nucleus of cells that carries the gentian blueprint of an organism

Gene transcription

The biological process of making an RNA copy from the DNA sequence of the gene. The RNA produced is called the messenger RNA (mRNA) which provides information for making the protein coded by the gene

Gene

A basic unit of heredity made of DNA and found on chromosomes in the nucleus

Genotype

Broadly, refers to the entire genetic makeup of an individual. More specifically, it refers to the pair of alleles found at a particular genomic location

Homozygous genotype

The presences of identical alleles (either wild type or variant) at a particular genomic location

Heterozygous genotype

The presence of two different alleles at a particular genomic location

Metabolizing enzymes

Proteins that facilitate, enhance, or accelerate chemical reactions in the body. These enzymes convert the drug molecules to either inactive or active products in the body.

Phenotype

The physical or functional manifestation of the genotype in an organism

Polymorphism

A gene variant that occurs at a frequency greater than 1% in a population

RNA or ribonucleic Acid

A single stranded molecule with multiple functions, including allowing genes that make up the DNA to be expressed in the form of proteins

Single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP

A sequence variation at a single position in a DNA sequence

Variant

A specific region of the genetic material that differs from the most common DNA sequence and that may or may not lead to altered function

Wild type

Phenotype or allele that is in the form most commonly found in the population, and that is assumed to result in the “typical” function for an organism